Movers & Shakers: CEO Shakeups at BIO, Passage Bio and Palisade Bio
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Passage Bio and Palisade Bio saw leadership shakeups at the top, while Maze Therapeutics, Cerecin and more appointed new chief medical officers.
Biotechnology Innovation Organization
Michelle McMurray Heath stepped down from her role as president and chief executive officer of BIO. She will now serve as an adviser to the executive committee, offering guidance on key BIO initiatives.
During her short tenure as CEO, McMurry-Heath reorganized the leadership structure of the trade group to provide what was expected to be “long-term stability for the organization.” However, reports have suggested that stability has not been achieved.
Rachel King, co-founder and former CEO of GlycoMimetics, Inc. has stepped in to serve as interim CEO. BIO will search for a full-time CEO. In addition to her role at GlycoMimetis, King served as a senior vice president at Novartis. Before that, she was CEO of Genetic Therapy, Inc.
William Chou will assume the role of chief executive officer of Philadelphia-based Passage Bio. He replaces Edgar B. Cale, who has served as interim CEO. Cale will continue his role as general counsel and corporate secretary.
Chou most recently served as CEO of Aruvant Sciences, a gene therapy company. Before Aruvant, he held multiple leadership roles at Novartis, including vice president, global disease lead for the company's Cell and Gene Therapy unit. Before Novartis, Chou worked at the Boston Consulting Group.
Thomas Hallam ceased his duties as CEO of Palisade on Oct. 10. JD Finley, the company’s current chief financial officer, has stepped in to serve as interim CEO.
Prior to joining Palisade, Finley was president, CFO and CEO of PointAcross, Inc., a software company. Prior to that, he co-founded Proteus Capital Partners, Inc.
New Chief Medical Officers
Harold Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed president, head of research and development and chief medical officer.
Bernstein joins Maze from BioMarin, where he served as senior vice president, CMO and head of global clinical development. Prior to BioMarin, he was head of translational medicine and vice president of global medicines development and medical affairs at Vertex. Before that, he held roles at Merck, including head of early development for cardiometabolic diseases.
Additionally, Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D., who has served as Maze’s senior vice president, research and translational sciences, has been promoted to chief scientific officer. Previously, Green was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Third Rock Ventures.
Marc Cantillon, M.D. was named CMO of neurotherapeutics company Cerecin.
Prior to Cerecin, Cantillon was CMO of Reviva Pharmaceuticals. Before that, he was CMO of Green Valley Pharmaceuticals. He has also held leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Impax Labs and Kyowa Kirin. Cantillon was also the founding executive medical director of the Coalition for Major Diseases at the Critical Path Institute, a public-private partnership.
Walden Biosciences
Peter Guest Linde, M.D. was named the first CMO of Walden Biosciences. Most recently, Linde was CMO of Morphic Therapeutic, Inc. Prior to that, he was vice president of medical research at Acceleron Pharma, Inc. Before that, Linde was project lead of clinical asset development at AbbVie. Before that, he was senior director of clinical development at FibroGen, Inc. In addition, Linde was founder, director and president of Triaxis Medical Devices, Inc. He started his corporate career at Johnson & Johnson, Inc., where he was the director of clinical research.
Canary Medical
Patrick Verta, M.D., was appointed CMO. He previously served as vice president of medical affairs, clinical science and biometrics at Edwards Lifesciences.
Prior to his role at Edwards, Verta served as the company’s vice president of medical affairs and heart failure in the corporate development and strategy group. Previously, he served as CMO for start-up companies Sunshine Heart and Neomend. Before that, he served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Abbott Vascular and Guidant.
Vor Bio
Longtime industry executive Eyal C. Attar, M.D., was named CMO of Vor Bio.
Attar most recently served as senior vice president and CMO for Aprea Therapeutics. Before Aprea, he held multiple positions in clinical development at Agios Pharmaceuticals, including senior medical director and IDH hematology medical lead. Attar was previously an attending hematologist/oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Maternova, Inc.
Luna M. Mehrain, M.D., was tapped as CMO of Rhode Island-based Maternova.
Mehrain previously held positions with Médecins Sans Frontières, Merlin, DAI, Population Services International and the International Planned Parenthood Federation.